#lover house green room tay makes me FEEL THINGS

[ohgaylor]

sincerely, taylor swift — an acoustic anthology of poems and lyrics written exclusively during the sudden glow of inspiration. now accompanied by guitar and recorded in raw, one-take fashion, Taylor bids us a glance into the mind and heart of a sincere songwriter.

inspired by “on the way home I wrote a poem. you say ‘what a mind.’ this happens all the time”

[ctl-yuejie]

HP!TayNew

part 6: ซ่อนกลิ่น tuberose (sorn klin) - part 1

( 3.6 k)

thanks as always to @earthpodd , @sluttynewwiee , @bl-phillip @ziq-panda + @somewhatavidreader for the cutest live-commentary & sweet comments

read on ao3 (part 1 2 3.1 3.2 3.3 4 5)

The weeks leading up to the Christmas break were the busiest they had had so far.

Not only did almost all of their professors insist on giving them short tests before the break, the weekend trip to Hogsmeade was coming up and they were already busy making use of the new places they had discovered in the castle.

Luckily for them the Slytherin head-boy was too embarrassed to admit that two students had broken into the prefect’s bathroom and stolen the quidditch team captain’s robes, so their incident went undetected by the school’s staff.

Nevertheless, rumours had started to spread and both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students were claiming to house the brave intruders. Tay sincerely hoped that the Hufflepuff’s who had seen him coming back that day, had already forgotten about the incident or at least wouldn’t spread the information.

The robes would turn up on Halloween in midst of the spooky decoration in the Great Hall, adding new fuel to the rumour mill. At first Newwiee was displeased with the obvious spot Tay had chosen to get rid of the stolen item but it turned out that Tay, while on the lookout for the perfect hiding spot, had simply dropped and forgotten them. But as no one had any real proof and the prefect had sworn all witnesses to silence, no one knew who was behind the alleged storming of the prefects’ bathroom besides Tay, New, Off and Gun.

Turning the situation to their advantage, Tay and Newwiee would sneak back into the bathroom from time to time to relax in the hot water. Although the password changed regularly, Tay’s nose for bath salts never disappointed and they were granted entrance without failure. Funnily enough, Off and Gun would never join them, Off having a disdain for being naked around others and when they asked Gun, he simply gave them a lazy smile as if he’d already seen everything the castle had to offer and the prefects’ bathroom couldn’t entice him anymore.

Tay and New had come to the verdict that the best time to hijack the bathroom was after their potions class on Friday. No one was there during that time and it was an unmatchable feeling to strip off the school robes that had absorbed the stuffy air of the dungeons and a variety of cauldron fumes and be enveloped by the scented water.

It was the first Friday after Halloween when they attended an especially gruelling potions class. While none of the students had been able to brew the potion to perfection Snape had fixated on Newwiee and took up station in front of his desk to degrade him.

Newwiee endured the public shaming in silence trying not to give the professor another reason to snap at him. Tay could feel himself getting enraged by the minute, the sleeves of his robes getting squeezed between his balled fists. When Snape started to repeatedly call Newwiee a fool he had had enough. “With all due respect Sir, I think Newwiee has understood his mistakes”, his voice was shaking and sounded even to himself like someone else was talking in his stead. Snape spun around and looked him over from head-to-toe. “Infatuation – does make fools out of us and clouds our judgment. I will not tolerate insolent students in this class. There is no need to act like the chivalrous hero, Mr. Vihokratana. Mr. Thitipoom just has to refrain from showing off and work harder on precision instead of letting – spells – do the work for him.” Snape turned to face the class. “Be advised that fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions and allow themselves to be provoked this easily- weak people, in other words, are not made for the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making.” Tay’s cheeks started to burn while he fixed his eyes on the ground. “5 points from Hufflepuff. A new record for the house, I guess. You must make your parents proud.” He could hear a Slytherin choke on laughter. The only consoling thought that came to his mind was that Gun would deal with her later.

Tay stood rooted to the spot in shame. The injustice of it all made him feel sick. He felt bad that Newwiee had gotten dragged back into the situation after he had tried to defend him. “You can pack your things and leave Mr. Vihokratana. Maybe your lovebird Mr. Thitipoom wants to follow you.” Snape’s remark was cutting but his face didn’t show any trace of an emotion. Snickering could be heard echoing in the dungeons. Tay forced himself to not look at anyone as he took his belongings and made his way out of class. He could hear footsteps trying to catch up with him but didn’t slow down until he felt a small pull on his robes after he exited the classroom. He turned around to find Newwiee smiling at him. It seemed like Newwiee didn’t mind to get mistaken as Tay’s lover and had left the classroom with him to Snape’s indifference and the jeering of their classmates.

“Want to take a bath?”, was all he asked and Tay nodded, feeling exhausted. They agreed to meet each other at the statue of Boris the Bewildered after dropping off their books.

The bathroom seemed to have mercy on them and made it easy to enter, the calming scent of lavender already being noticeable in the corridor.

They left the lights off, stripped naked and wordlessly glided into the steaming water. Tay sighed. Scotland was too cold for him and the potions lesson had left him emotionally exhausted. The room was almost completely dark, the water reflected the little light that seemed to come out of the glass-stained windows themselves. It was already dark outside. Tay could feel his body thaw and almost got lulled into a trance when Newwiee splashed him from the side.

Tay still could make out the smile on Newwiee’s face but his features were mellowed by the dim light, making his skin look even more even. Small droplets of water glistened as they were running down his upper body. He got another mouthful of water. Newwiee’s laughter echoed in the room. Tay started to feebly retaliate and waded closer to Newwiee to at least hit some part of him. “What a dick.” “What?” “Snape”, Newwiee clarified blocking Tay’s arm and splashing him with the other. “Let’s just, no…uh-uh”, Tay shook his head in disdain. He didn’t want to spend any more time thinking about that class. Newwiee cocked his head and smirked at him. “You defended me.” Tay splashed him instead of answering. Fingers interlocked they fought for dominance and tried to dunk each other into the water.

After wrestling for some time, the heat and humidity made them feel light-headed so they swam to the pool side, arms resting on the edge.Tay let his head fall down onto his crossed arms and turned to Newwiee. For once they weren’t saying anything, trying to catch their breath. Tay’s small pants echoed in the room and Newwiee turned to him smiling. He was so freaking beautiful to him that Tay got lost staring at him for a while.

Newwiee, whose wet bangs covered his eyes. Newwiee who didn’t know what it did to Tay when he pushed his hair back. Newwiee who rested his cheek on his hand and looked back at Tay. Newwiee who wouldn’t meet his eyes, gaze fixed on his lips instead.

What?

Before Tay could spend more time on that thought, Newwiee twisted his body and scrunched up his face. Rolling his shoulders, he tried to loosen up some kink but it didn’t seem to work.

“Did you pull something?”, Tay asked concerned. “It’s fine, just have to move it a bit.” To Tay it looked like Newwiee was putting on a show but he decided to indulge him. Moving behind him, he held onto Newwiee’s shoulders and started to massage him. He could feel Newwiee stiffening under his touch at first but soon he started to relax when Tay with rather amateurish movements loosened up his arm muscles. Just being allowed to touch Newwiee like this made him overwrought. Using his chance while Newwiee was defenceless, he poked his finger into his side making him squirm. Tay’s laughter filled the room as they got into a tickling fight, which ended up with them wrestling again in the water.

When their movements became more sluggish they emerged from the water, still giggling despite the exhaustion. All of the sudden, Tay felt embarrassed at his exposure and put on his pants as quickly as he could. He managed to pull a hoodie over his head before Newwiee could offer to dry him off with a spell. The last thing he needed was Newwiee’s wand pointing anywhere near his naked body.

Before he could zip up his pants however, hands were grabbing onto the hem of his hoodie, trying to pull it up. Tay stopped Newwiee with his hands and was met with a pout. “I want this.” “What?” "It’s green. I want it”, Newwiee said like it was obvious that he owned anything in that colour.

Off didn’t even bat an eyelash when Tay returned to the dorm wearing a pink sweater.

Off started to regret not teasing them more often when Tay and New constantly hollered at him on their way to Hogsmeade.

They took turns calling out “Peng” and then giggled like little school girls when he turned around. At some point Gun shot them a tired smile and pulled Off away from them towards The Three Broomstricks.

Tay steered Newwiee towards Dervish and Banges instead, a helpful shop that sold and repaired magical instruments. The shop was empty and the door chime rang into the silence when they entered. The goods were arranged in a neat and organized manner and the metal instruments seemed to glint on the dark cupboards.

Newwiee’s mood turned sour by the minute as he went through the list of things Tay had broken recently, all of which he could possibly fix for him. A small witch appeared behind the counter and Tay went over to talk to her. Feeling left out, Newwiee stayed next to the window and with a flick of his wand dancing letters appeared on the back of Tay’s coat reading ‘I’m an idiot’. The little witch rummaged through a small box before retrieving a small object and placing it on the counter. Newwiee couldn’t make out what it was, as Tay was blocking his view. The shop assistant was flourishing her hand at Tay and he complied, pulling out his wand and tapped the top of the item. To his surprise Newwiee realized that he had never seen this wand before. But before he could step up to observe it a loud whistling sound hit his ears and the witch and Tay jumped back, startled. After helplessly watching on as the witch fought to get the gadget under control Tay turned towards Newwiee, immediately being faced with the incriminating letters that were still floating in the air. A sigh escaped him. Newwiee didn’t know why his reaction didn’t sit right with him. Maybe it was because how Tay looked at him made him feel ashamed of what he did, even though it just had been a silly prank to begin with. It didn’t make him feel better when he found out that Tay had only wanted to purchase a sneakoscope and had never intended to have his things fixed by anyone else but Newwiee. Feeling that it was hard to decide where to begin to explain himself, Newwiee decided to just simply pay for the item, face flushed red when they left the shop.

Tay was still confused over the intention of Newwiee’s prank. But whatever had been the purpose it seemed to have gone wrong terribly because Newwiee looked very regretful, deliberately forgoing all shops he might have an interest in and instead heading over to Dogweed and Deathcap so Tay could check on some exotic plants.

Tay thought he was rather cute.

To their disappointment both Dogweed and Deathcap as well as Gladrags Wizardwear had a rather modest variety of goods. The items were mostly outdated and the clothes were more fitting for the elder inhabitant of Hogsmeade than a Hogwarts student.

After leaving the stores without purchasing anything they both decided to meet each other over the Christmas break to go shopping in London. Without telling him where they were headed, Newwiee, now in a better mood, pulled Tay along with him. They ended up on the doorstep of a cute little café. It looked like any old tea shop in the UK except that the frames of the storefront bay windows were painted in a particularly obnoxious pink. The hanging sign read “Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop” and the inscription in turquoise above the door confirmed Tay’s suspicion as it screamed “Tea & Cakes” at him. Through the window Tay could catch a glimpse at the shop, crowded with couples sitting on white chairs in the midst of what could only be described an explosion of pink and cushions.

Curiously Tay pushed the door open and got assaulted by a waft of warmth and the scent of sweets and spices.

The decoration was very tacky and everything was covered with frilly bows. The windows to their sides were steamed up and Tay couldn’t hear anything over the chatter of what seemed to be at least eight couples.

Newwiee aimed for the stairs and they made their way to the second floor, sitting down on a comfy sofa towards the back of the room. Although the place was bustling with people and the clattering of dishes had been deafening downstairs, the noise was more bearable upstairs as some of the seats were still empty.

“It’s only couples in here…”, Tay started but a waitress came up and he got interrupted by Newwiee listing what seemed to be every item on the menu as he looked at Tay and shrugged. Soon a mountain of cakes, pastries and sweets started to form on their table. Tay took a sip of his oolong tea, the only thing he had ordered, as he watched Newwiee make short work of a pumpkin pastry, hands already reaching for the cauldron cakes. He hummed in satisfaction and Tay couldn’t find it in himself to stop him, even if everything indicated that one of them would experience severe stomach aches tonight. “Here”, and Newwiee pushed half of a treacle tart into his face so he could take a bite. Tay obliged. “Urghhh, it’s really sweet.” “These are from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop. They only have them in Diagon Alley and here.” Newwiee’s pace had slowed down, but now he was excitedly slapping Tay with his sticky fingers. Some of the Toffee eclairs had gotten smeared around his mouth. Tay took a tissue and wiped the corner of Newwiee’s mouth, who happily pushed his face closer.

The couple next to them seemed to have gotten distracted by the amount of sweets Newwiee was eating and Tay could see them shamelessly gawking as they started to whisper. He shot them his iciest look and they turned around.

He tried to make Newwiee drink some of his oolong tea and decided to nibble on some of the sweet treats to humour him. But besides the fresh fruit that was used for decoration nothing was to his taste. However, just watching Newwiee trying to decide between a doughnut and a brownie was all the entertainment he needed. “You can eat all these on Christmas for free”, he laughed. Newwiee force-fed him some waffles for being a know-it-all. They weren’t half-bad. “Hogwarts doesn’t have THESE”, and Newwiee pointed to whatever was left-over of his order and shook his head at the idea that all these delicious treats could taste the same to someone. Tay smiled fondly at Newwiee.

“What’s this new wand about by the way?” Tay seemed to be confused for a moment before he pulled it out of his jacket and realized that Newwiee had only ever seen his practice wands. “Not new. This is the one my parents bought for me.” “What’s it made of?”, Newwiee stretched out his hands for Tay to hand it over. The wand had a beautiful light brown colour, was only slightly curved and adorned by a wood knot at the end. Something pulled at Newwiee’s heart as he looked it over. “Nepalese alder with unicorn hair”, Tay held his wand at a safe distance from Newwiee’s sticky fingers. “The wandmaker told me that I must be stubborn in character for an alder wand to choose me.” “I have to agree with him. Never met someone as bull-headed as you!”, Newwiee smirked and knew he had pushed the right buttons when Tay got worked up more and more about his comment by the minute.

In the end they were almost thrown out for too much arguing.

That night Tay was awoken by a soft voice calling out for him. Turning in his bed he saw a glint in the two-way-mirror. Yawning, he reached out for it and Newwiee’s face appeared in his line of sight. “Ui, Tay. Tay, Tay”, Newwiee whispered into the mirror. All Tay could see where his lips and he had to stop himself from just pressing a kiss on his side of the mirror. Sleep-drugged Tay never made the best choices. “What?”, he grumbled instead. Silence. “What?”, he repeated. Newwiee seemed to have become aware of his presence. “Can’t sleep”, he whined trying to act cute so Tay would take pity on him. “Told you not to eat all those sweets”, Tay nagged, which only let to Newwiee whining some more.

After stretching his legs, he put on a jumper and his boots, walking out of the dormitory leaving the mirror behind on his bed.

He had to give it to the sorting head. The kitchen being right in the vicinity of the Hufflepuff common room was everything he thought he ever needed. Walking down the corridor he stopped in front of the painting of a bowl of fruit and tickled a pear gingerly, trying not to wake up the house elves. The pear giggled sleepily and turned into a large green door handle, revealing the entrance to the Hogwarts kitchens.

It took him some time to find what he was looking for but soon enough he climbed up the stairs to the 7th floor a cup of piping hot tea in his hand.

Waiting in front of the painting of the fat lady he berated himself for forgetting to take the mirror with him. Despite his drowsiness he felt something akin to fear at the thought of being caught by Filch. Just when he was sure to have heard a cat meowing around the corner the painting swung back and revealed Newwiee’s face.

Both got startled and Newwiee dropped the blanket in his arms to clasp a hand over Tay’s mouth before his screams could wake someone up. “Huaaaaaaaaa”, a loud yawn escaped from the portrait. ”You might as well just go inside Hufflepuff hottie”, the fat lady chirped. Apparently she had faked her sleep in order to ogle at Tay while he was waiting to be let in. Now that she had to face the wall and the Hufflepuff boy seemed to be taken she rapidly lost interest. Newwiee shuddered at that thought of the fat lady creeping up on Tay and pulled him in by his arm, while Tay was concentrating on not spilling the tea.

After histrionically flopping down on the sofa in front of the fire place Newwiee curled up with his blanket.

It was the first time for Tay to enter the Gryffindor common room. It was full of squashy armchairs, tables and a sofa, all in several shades of red. Many windows looked out onto the grounds of the school, and a large fireplace dominated one wall. The others were covered with scarlet tapestries depicting witches and wizards, as well as various animals and bookcases filled to the top with novels.

Tay sat down on the sofa, blowing on the tea to cool it down a little bit further before knocking the cup softly against Newwiee’s head. He only got a growl for an answer. “It’s oolong tea, should help with your bloated stomach.” Newwiee pushed himself up to look at Tay and was met with the rim of a cup in his face. Having no other choice, he took a few sips. The tea tasted incredibly bitter but Tay was unyielding and forced him to drink up. Newwiee pushed himself up a little more so he wouldn’t choke and rested his head on Tay’s shoulder when he finished. “Isn’t this going to keep me awake?” he mumbled, eyes half-closed. “I steeped it long enough.” “Huh? You don’t make sense”, Newwiee started to get cranky and knocked his forehead against Tay’s shoulder. “During the first three minutes theine gets released into the water and keeps you awake. If you steep it longer, the tannin will dissolve as well and make you sleepy in return”, Tay patted Newwiee’s head to appease him.

“How did you know I was coming?” Newwiee didn’t answer. A sudden thought made Tay feel all warm and fuzzy. “Did you have that blanket with you to go and sleep at my dorm?” The question was meant to annoy Newwiee, but when he got just another growl in return he knew that he had been dead on. He felt all silly and vulnerable in his hopefulness.

“Tay?”, Newwiee forced his eyes open to look up at him. “Alder wands don’t choose stubborn people. They often are for those who are helpful, considerate and most likeable.” With that he re-positioned himself and fell asleep with his head on Tay’s leg.

Tay had a hard time to control his breathing.

to be continued

[asterinjapan]

A short travel in time

Well, I’ve sort of recovered from yesterday, although I’m still mostly in disbelief. I was so excited I fell asleep so late that it was… kind of early instead, oops.

Anyway! Today’s day trip was to Kawagoe, which is only half an hour by train from Ikebukuro, so no harm done in sleeping a little late.

Not too late though, breakfast ends at 9:30 at my hotel, haha. After that, I made my way to the station and went to the Tobu information center. Tobu railway has a special pass for Kawagoe: a combination ticket for the train back and forth from Ikebukuro, unlimited use of the buses by Tobu in Kawagoe (without the buses, the pass is cheaper) and for discounts in a couple of stores. This pass is only for foreign visitors, but hey, that’s me! (I didn’t even have to show my passport, the upside of looking very obviously foreign I guess.)

A train ride later, I hopped onto the first bus to bring me to the old center. You see, Kawagoe is also called Koedo – Ko-Edo, Little Edo. Edo is the last period in Japanese history before the Meiji Restoration of 1868, after which the country modernized and got rid of the feudal system with samurai. Kawagoe’s storehouse street has a ton of buildings all still in the old kurazukuri-style, which is really lovely to see. It’s kind of similar to the building style you still see in temples. In the middle of it all is the Time Bell Tower (Toki no kane), a 16 meters tall bell tower that was last reconstructed in 1894. It’s a symbol of Kawagoe and still chimes a couple of times a day.

I took a ton of photos (liberally abusing my vintage filter on my camera, haha) and then walked to the nearby Hikawa shrine, since there’s only one bus to that shrine and that one only rides every hour or so. There’s multiple Hikawa shrines in Japan, and even in the Tokyo area – I think some are written with the kanji for fire for Hi, but this one had ice. Which is kind of redundant since Kawa means water, but alright. Actually it’s a famous shrine for lovers, but you can also get a fortune for ‘a year of calmth’ or something. Look, the thing is – usually at a shrine, you can pull a rolled up piece of paper from a box. That piece of paper is an omikuji and holds a fortune. If the fortune is bad, you can tie it up at the shrine’s complex to ward off the bad luck. (A very practical way of fortune telling, haha.) At this shrine, the pieces of paper are rolled up and put into tiny wooden fish, that you can actually fish up with a rod. Obviously not from an actual river, but super cute and totally worth the 300 yen since you get to keep the fish. Unless your fortune is bad, because I saw quite some fish tied up with the bad fortunes, oops. I have yet to decipher mine in full, but it says ‘a bit of luck’, so I’m going to keep it. As a side note, they’re tiny fish so that they could make a pun. You see, the red ones are called ‘Ichinen Antai’, a year of peace/security. That ‘antai’ is written with the characters for peacefulness and for, get this, sea bream (the fish). It took me forever to get it, because the ‘tai’ in ‘antai’ should actually be a completely different character. However, you can also write tai with the kanji for sea bream, so… I’m still upset. (The pink fish were for love, and say ‘aitai’, ‘wanting to meet’. Same pun with ‘tai’. Argh.)

That as a (long) aside, next up was the Kawagoe Castle main keep, the only building left of the castle. Aaaand I was out of luck, because it was closed for today. However, the  weather was lovely for walking – sunny, not too hot but most certainly not too cold either. (Apparently half the Netherlands are down due to snow? I’m just strolling around in 12 C if not warmer here, pff.) I took some photos and made my way back to the storehouse street for lunch.

I’d planned on eel for lunch, but alas, all sold out. So I settled for a green tea set, in a charming little house in the middle of Penny Candy Lane, a street going around in a square completely littered with candy shops. Surprisingly, I didn’t actually buy anything here – I could feel my teeth rot away due to the sweetness in the air alone, whoa. Also, sweet potatoes are a specialty here. Anyone up for sweet potato ice cream? Yyyyeah. Maybe next time. (It was purple ice cream, in case you wanted to know that. I mean, I guess sweet works, but… Hm.)

I took a quick trip to look at the oldest building in the area, Osawa House. It was closed (don’t go to Kawagoe on a Monday is a lesson learnt, haha), but it was still kind of cool to see a building constructed in 1782 still standing. It’s one of the very few remaining original storehouses here, since most of Kawagoe got burnt down before.

I stumbled across another tea establishment, where I first bought some tea to take home, and then found out had a tea house on the second floor. So I went for my second helping of matcha, haha, and I found they had pretty natsume here! They’re those small lacquer boxes in which you store the powdered tea for the tea ceremony. I have pretty much all other supplies for the tea ceremony, but not this one, so I cheerfully brought one back with me.

After that, I went to check out the Taisho Roman yume street, the ‘romantic dream’ street from the Taisho era (1910-1920s). This was mostly interesting to see the contrast in building style, as you had both European style buildings from that area and old storehouses side by side.

I decided to call it a day after that and went back to Ikebukuro, where I did some self-indulgent shopping (and then made way to Akihabara for a figurine I had had my eyes on before, haha).

And now I’m back in my room, after a nice bath to ease the muscles in my leg (I’m not used to walking a lot in these boots, and despite taking the lazy route with the bus, I still do walk a lot here). Tomorrow I’ll have an earlier start, since that’s Disneyland day! I can’t wait to see what it looks like in Christmas style. Even with the ubiquitous Christmas songs and decorations here, I’m not really in the mood for Christmas yet, but that might just change tomorrow, haha.

See you!

[ryleejaybyrd]

ANSWER ALL THE EVENS BWAHAHA

Jesus christ Taylor XD Nobody cares but here I go!!!!!!!

lol like how I tried to play it off cool but I’m actually super stoked rn

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?

Yes and no... for like the first day of winter when it’s all pretty and pristine but when it get’s to the point of ‘fuck me do i still have toes?’ I’m over it.

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?

I like my coffee with french vanilla creamer and lovingly call it my princess froofroo bullshit drink. On the tea side of things I like herbal without anything added becuase I feel like a fairy drinking flower water.

6: do you keep plants? 

I love thinking I could, but the only plant I haven’t killed is the one that I keep in my papa’s sunroom where I’m never anywhere near it because everything I touch dies screaming.

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

Is internal screaming a viable medium? I like to think I can write, but that’s still under investigation

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

I’m all over the place, you can usual tell by my hair tho. Seeing as it sticks straight up on whichever side I sleep on.

12: what's your favorite planet?

Jupiter!! It has all those awesome moons that are v cool.

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?Hmmmmm, it’d probably be a homey mess of books, fandom knicknacks and random coffee mugs with random socks laying everywhere. (there may or may not be a smiley face painted on the wall that is outlined with bullets.. crazy night..)

16: what's your favorite pasta dish?

I’m very uncultured so spaghetti is how imma roll

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

oh god, you mean every other moment I’m in their presence? My shining moment would probably be when I had a minor stroke after getting v excited about making cinnamon pancakes for @klskipper13​ and I stuttered so bad I said “ Cinininamonon pancancancakes” 

20: what's your favorite eye color?

Probably green! 

22: are you a morning person?

HAHAHAHA. that’s cute

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

Honestly I’m a pretty open person? I’ll tell anyone anything, especially if I think it’ll make them laugh.

26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit?

YOU MEAN THE ONES THAT JUST BROKE AND I’M STILL GRIEVING OVER. They’re brown combat boots that go to just under my knee with laces all the way up. I lovingly named them my Katniss boots, may they rest in peace.

28: sunrise or sunset?

I like the idea of sunrise. There’s just something about beginnings that make me all poetic and shit

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?

Yup, 100% when my friend and I got busted after drinking at her mormon grandmothers house. In retrospect, probably should have done it elsewhere.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.

At my 13th bday party my friends and I were staying at a house on a golf course and we streaked nude up and down the 18th hole. Till this day I wonder if they had surveillance cameras.

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?

It was a doe deer beanie baby named Whisper. She was that stuffed animal that went everywhere with me. At age 12 I lost her somewhere at my cousins house and am still sad about it till this day. She had one eye and a pink nail polish stain on her chest. Bonus story: my oldest friend @haleygalik​ had that same beanie baby and gave it to me since I was so upset about losing mine. I still have Whisper 2.0 till this day

36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now?Right now? Uuhh, I’m not sure tbh. I’m kinda feeling serene so something celticy. I’m also uncultured in music.

38: tell us about your pet peeves!

Dogs that beg when you try to eat. My dad passed that down to me. I will literally stare a dog straight in the eye and eat slowly. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs more then humans, but that bothers me. I also get very twitchy when a computer desktop is just full of icons (yes I’m talking about you Tay.)

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you?

I have this wedding band set that I found when my great grandma jay passed away. I think it was her wedding rings, but I never knew for sure. I wish I knew their story more then anything.

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!

There’s a shop that’s in our town called grump monkey. Its small and kinda modern themed but still comfy.

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?Hmmm, probably when I was swimming in the ocean last November. The ocean is my home.

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.

The fact that Barbara Dunkelman from Rooster Teeth is so bad at puns she gave herself the title Barbara Punkelman....

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?

Being abducted by one of the aliens from Signs. Well duh.

50: what's an odd thing you collect?

Tbh I don’t collect anything really... but I do have a thing about small intricate boxes and bottles. I don’t usually keep them long tho. I move a lot.

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far?

The only one I’ve noticed is the thing with the cowboy hat. I’m not the most observant

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?

I just saw a friend of my mom’s who’s brother passed away, that was rough.

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?

It is so great when people talk with their hands more and more as they get excited. The best story tellers look like they’re being pulled around by a drunk marionette person.

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?

@brigadepuppy​ is probably the wine mom, and @klskipper13​ is the vodka aunt who doesnt really drink but has a bottle thats filled with water so people wont nag her to drink with them.

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?

Robert Frost is my main bitch. His path diverging in a yellow wood will always be my fave. tho in english class we once read this poem about a lady who kept one of her lovers locked away in a hidden room and continued to sleep by the body even after the person died... to this day i cant find it anywhere. had something to do with roses. creepy as fuck but great.

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?

Orange is the bomb!

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?

a black satin canvas speckled with the iridescence of millions of different cosmic lights

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?

Oh! I really like colorful leaves and vines instead of flowers.

68: what's winter like where you live?

A mythic bitch. #upperleft

70: have you ever used a ouija board?

Fuck to the no. I like not being haunted thank you. Tho, I am 100% convinced a ghost named Tina haunts me. I’ve had flickering lights, random bangs, and things falling off shelfs happen every once in awhile. I’m surprisingly calm about it mostly.

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it?

Absolutely. Helps keep my mind clear too. If i write it down it’s not swirling around in my brain and distracting me. Once its tangible its easy to toss aside.

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.

I have only two friends

Friend 1: My lil Asian

Friend 2: Lil Bitch

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't?

Oh for sure. I should be buying a ticket from Florida to New York, researching my trip to New Zealand, and double checking my bills are payed. HAHA NEXT QUESTION

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?

I’m a fanclub! I have a lot of love for people I’ve never met

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?

White, sadly. I didn’t, like I said. I move a lot.

82: are/were you good in school?

100% was a fly on the wall. Put in minimum effort and left with a 3.5 GPA cuz our school system is a joke.

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?

Yas!~ I want to do my Harry Potter house with my friends and something to do with space/the ocean or mythical creatures

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?

Uh sure, I totally know what those are and they’re great...

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?

The lil animatic videos people are doing for musicals! I love them so much!!! For example @galactibun​ and @raythrill​ do some really neat ones! (or at least I’m pretty sure they do??? I always see them blogging that style anyway)

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities.

Austin! Mainly because Rooster Teeth, but also it was such a vibrant place! I would like to live their someday.

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?

All the cheese. It’s cheese with a side of pasta. I love cheese.

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?

My Aunt Kelly!

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? 100%  procrastinator. They take forever.

98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?

Way to long... uh probably last summer with a friends dog! Of course! Being outside is always cathartic

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?

I’d go into the past! I’d miss so much if I were to skip ahead that I’d feel anxious I think. 

Here you all go, XD thanks Tay, I appreciate you booboo

[drycoin14-blog]

In Memoriam: Yummers Potatoes (2000-2018)

Yummers Potatoes

2000-2018

A couple weeks ago, our sweet boy Yummers died at the age of 18. We adopted him when he was about 1 year old, and so we shared our lives together for 17 years and 1 week. Today I am 44 years old, which means I was only 27 when we brought him home. It's amazing to think of all the changes and events in our lives since then... with little Yummers by our side the whole time.

This picture was taken in the first few days after we first got Yummers. 

We were all three little babies!

Yummers was the first pet we got together, and it was so exciting. We were absolutely obsessed with him - looking for him the second we walked in the house and nearly assaulting him with snuggles. For years, we threw a big party every year to celebrate "Yummers Day" - with activities like making catnip toys, or coloring in drawings of Yummers. We stopped doing this when we realized that Yummers wasn't actually enjoying his own party. Ha ha. Many years later though, Yummers did come to enjoy parties - especially if there were about 8 people or so. If it was a big party, he would wait until lots of people had left, and the party was the right size for him. Then he would come out and socialize like the lord of the manor!

"the long distance snuggle"

When we first got Yummers, he was not interested in snuggles. He had an injured foot and came from the shelter with a kitty cold, and he was just plain meek and very afraid. It took us such a long time to win him over and to help him emerge from his shell. We were patient with him, and played with him, and even fed him little nibbles off our plates to win his good favor (it worked!). His first official "snuggle" was when he would sit within arm's reach near us on the sofa. We named this move "The long distance snuggle."

Yummers was always food motivated! 

When we adopted Yummers, the vet told Musty that "you could just leave food out for him to eat." About a week later, Musty suggested that I buy a new bag of cat food. "Already??" I asked. It turned out Yummers had happily plowed his way through a whole bag of kitty kibble in no time at all. And Mr. VE&T had never had a cat before, so he didn't know any better! ha ha. After that, we took to giving him smaller servings twice a day. 

We kept the container of extra food up on the mantle of our fireplace... until one night when we came home from a dinner date only to find that Yummers had - against all odds! - jumped up to the mantle (we could see the claw marks in the wood!) and knocked the container down, and distributed kibbles far and wide across the land. He was most delighted with his handiwork. 

A year or so later, Yummers  actually became quite athletic! His foot injury slowly healed and soon he was jumping over fences, climbing trees, hunting bugs and gophers in the garden (not vegan! sorry!), eating grass, and jumping up and down to his super tall kitty tower. 

in our magnolia tree... looking like such a youngster! 

My yoga buddy

Yummers was my faithful yoga buddy. He loved being out in the studio with me, especially since he was the only one allowed out there with me. It was a dog-free zone, and a special place for just Yummers and me. Some mornings I wouldn't really feel excited about practicing, but Yummers would be there, meowing and heading for the back door - guiding me like Lassie! 

Yummers' most favorite pose was baddha konasana. I had to do this every single time we did yoga together - he liked to climb into the space between my heels and my legs. Then he would purr and snuggle and soak up all the snugs he wanted. Sometimes I would have to do this several times in one practice session! 

Yummers had his own private entrance to the yoga room... up the little red stairs and through the window. In the summer, I would leave the window open for him to come and go as he pleased. He loved to sit on the stairs, or often half-inside the yoga room and half-outside - soaking up the joys of the great outdoors. 

Chatty Yummers

Yummers was a real talker! And he just loved to be sweet talked. He loved his name so much - one of our favorite games was to say his name to him in a super perky way, and then he would respond immediately with a hearty chirp!

Amey: "Yummers!"

Yummers: "Mrow!"

Amey: "Yummers!"

Yummers: "Mrow!"

It could go on like this for quite a while. He also loved if you just said his name over and over and over real fast "YummersYummersYummersYummersYummersYummers..." It would make him purr so loudly!

Acutally, this is pretty amazing, but Yummers was such a good communicator that he had a distinct meow for many different circumstances. We could tell the difference between when he was meowing just to say hi, asking to be fed, bossing Dottie around, about to throw up, angry, and so on. It was really incredible. But also, it was just fun because he always had something to say.

in his life time, Yummers had over one million nick names...

here are a few favorites off the top of my head:

YumBum // Little Baby Yummers // Yummino Acid // Osama bin Sweetie

Po-tay-to // Foo D. Nose // Potentate // Yummers Bummers

Yummers Yummers Monkey Summers // Snuggy Boy

 Little Lord Yummers // YummersYummersYummersYummers

"the cutie"

We had names for many of Yummers' cute moves. In 17 years of togetherness, Yummers never sat on our laps. He was not into that. But, he did love sleeping between my feet on the bed... and after several years, he decided to drape his little paws over my leg while he slept. I know this sounds crazy, but we were so excited that we freaked out and named this new move "the cutie." ha ha. It remained a favorite of his for the rest of his days - and in fact, he spent most of the last few months of his life in his favorite little kitty bed, with his paws draped over the edge, cutie-style. 

"the cutie" in action,

with added yawn power! 

Yummers wasn't into super physical contact, he didn't sleep on our laps or "make biscuits" on our laps... but what he lacked in physical affection, he more than made up for with emotional presence. The minute you walked in the back door, Yummers would be there, amid all the barking dogs, persistently meowing hello and angling for his own affection. If I was in the front room, within a few minutes, Yummers would be there too. If we were out in the backyard, Yummers would come out the backyard. He loved to be with us. He loved to swoop around between my ankles and snugged and smooshed. He loved to be picked up and snuggled any chance he could get. He was really in the mix, really a part of the gang.

Sunshine Appreciator

Yummers was a true lover of sunshine

He was also very handsome.

Yummers and I had a very special sunshine routine in the backyard. He just loved when I would sit outside out in the back, and especially when I would put down a towel to lie on. He would materialize out of nowhere, and lie next to me in the sun, basking in the warmth and companionship. But I was *not* allowed to pet him while he was sun bathing - or he would turn on me and bite me! 

In the house, Yummers had an astute and keenly programmed routine of sun chasing: on the bed in the early morning, in the dining area in the late morning, in the back yard around noon, and then either the futon or the foot of the bed for the late afternoon sun. I'm tellin' ya, he had a pretty good life. 

sunshine on the Most Desirable green chair

Yummers had such a beautiful belly - and happily, he loved to have his belly petted, smooshed, snuggled, wiggled, and I was even allowed to smoosh my face up against it pretty much whenever I wanted.

Yummers and I had such a special thing. I just felt like I understood him. Any little move he made, any little glance or nudge, any shift in behavior and I felt like I knew what he wanted. I just understood him and I never felt like he was a weirdo or a mystery to me. Also, sweet Yummers enjoyed the snuggles I liked to give him and he happily let me pet him the way I wanted to pet him! I know it sounds a little selfish, but I really loved this about him so much. 

left: the "two-paw salute"

right: the "one paw salute"

This was one of Yummers' most favorite moves: the salute! He loved to be held over one shoulder like this, and it was best if you supported one of my back legs, but let the other one hang down. Ha ha. He was so particular! When he was happy, he would extend one arm out into the air. When he was really, really happy he would extend both arms out! The two-arm salute! 

#crossedpaws

This doodle is a stand in for 3 important snuggles:

1. "Tube Hug"

2. "The Trap"

3. "The Hobby Horse"

1. The Tube Hug: Yummers loved to be slowly petted from his head to his kitty butt, with our hands wrapped all the way around his kitty girth. 2. The Trap: at some point Mr. VE&T realized that if you placed one hand on top of his back and one hand on his belly and start smooshing your fingers, Yummers would immediately surrender and lie down for more snuggles. Hoorah! Obviously, this was immediately named "the trap," for our reluctant little snuggler.

3. The Hobby Horse: Honestly, Mr VE&T deserves full credit for discovering so many of Yummers' favorite little moves. In the last few years, he discovered just how much Yummers loved to be gently wiggled. Especially if you put him on the end of the bed. It was a special little bond they shared!

Yummers was a feisty little fella in his youth - he loved to play with his toys and he would get this little cross-eyed and wild look. Sometimes, totally out of the blue, he would jump up and attack my head for no reason! Except he was so chubby that his fuzzy little chub belly would just hit me on the head. He wanted to be fierce, but he really wasn't. He was just a sweet little bub. Ha ha ha! 

derp! 

You are not my friend

ha ha ha

This picture cracks me up. Yummers was not a fan of the dogs, but he adapted reluctantly. It's safe to say that he was the patriarch / dictator of our furry pack - a position he relished and enforced with an iron paw. Although he was able to tolerate the dogs (and they were all terrified of him), he absolutely was not able to tolerate poor Footie. Bringing Footie into our family was an act of betrayal that poor Yummers just could not abide, and he protested several times a day - mostly by continuously pestering Footie. It was a non-stop array of swats, minor aggressions, antagonism, kicking Footie out of his spot in the sun... only to follow him and kick him out the next spot... and the next spot. I'm convinced that this singular focus actually gave Yummers' life meaning and purpose in his final years.

The most interesting cat on the internet

What a beautiful picture of sweet Yummers Potatoes in his prime. 

Our veggie-loving sweet heart 

Of course one of the things that we all knew and loved about Yummers was his voracious and completely self-driven love of vegetables. What a nut! He loved pretty much all vegetables but his top 4 were definitely corn, asparagus, broccoli and green beans. Beyond that, all green veggies (kale, chard, spinach, peas, etc) were also preferred. Not to mention chips, crackers, rice cakes, popcorn, tortilla chips, and on and on. None of the other pets were ever allowed to have human food, so Yummers also enjoyed his very special privilege while the others looked on longingly. Ha ha. He really was quite imperial! 

A typical lunch experience:

me, attempting to eat my lunch in the sunny back yard, Yummers aggressively angling for his share of my veggies, Stevie looking on with eternal optimism! Yummers almost always managed to get a few nibbles from me. How could I resist?

Yummers'  "FEED ME!" face!

ha ha ha. I just love this picture so much, and I will always be grateful for it.

It really captures something so essential about him! Bossy and spunky and hungry!

Our friend Kendra took this picture when she was housesitting for us. Thanks Kendra.

Last but not least, three videos of Yummers eating his veggies with zeal and vigor! 

Yummers Eats His Broccoli

Yummers Eats His Corn

** Click here to see an old post with an excellent video of Yummers eating his corn! **

(I couldn't get the video to load correctly)

Yummers Eats His Asparagus

A few days after Yummers died, I went to the farmers' market only to find that the asparagus ladies were there for the first time this season. Of course they asked about him, because I was always buying more asparagus for him. I bought asparagus that day, but it took me several days to actually eat it because it kept making me cry. I know I'll never eat asparagus again and not remember my sweet Yummers Potatoes. 

In his last two days, he ate almost nothing... two nibbles of Tofurkey slices, and two tips of steamed asparagus. I love that he got his favorite veggie in his final days... he didn't have much appetite, but he could certainly rally for some delicious asparagus.  Rest in Peace, little veggie-lover.

my sweet little guy

Source: http://veganeatsandtreats.blogspot.com/2018/04/in-memoriam-yummers-potatoes-2000-2018.html